The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned in a report titled "The State of the World's Children" about the global decline in trust regarding the importance of routine vaccinations for children against deadly diseases such as measles and polio during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UNICEF noted that public perception of the importance of children's vaccines has decreased in 52 out of 55 countries included in the survey conducted between 2019 and 2021. The organization added that this data serves as a "worrying warning sign" of increased hesitancy towards vaccination amidst the spread of misinformation, declining trust in governments, and political divisions. It highlighted that this shift in perception is particularly concerning as it follows the largest sustained drop in childhood vaccinations in a generation during the COVID disruptions.
The latest report from UNICEF indicates that the decline in vaccine trust, disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and significant burdens on health systems have had devastating effects on child health.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell stated, "We cannot allow trust in routine vaccines to become another victim of the pandemic; otherwise, the next wave of deaths could involve more children suffering from measles, diphtheria, or other preventable diseases."
Overall, 67 million children missed one or more life-saving vaccines during the pandemic, and efforts to recover from this situation have been hampered despite increasing outbreaks of diseases. Among these 67 million children, 3.8 million are in the Middle East and North Africa, with the countries most affected in the Arab world being Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.
